Breaking down the weekend in college basketball.
IOWA 68, MICHIGAN 60
Small picture: The Hawkeyes needed a road win in Big Ten play, and Michigan was a perfect place to get one. Iowa shook off Michigan's 9-2 start and led by as much as 16 in the second half.
Big picture: Cyrus Tate and Tony Freeman are becoming the keys to Iowa's offense. Freeman had 28 points, while Tate had 21.
What it means: Hey, it's a win on the road in the Big Ten. You don't get too many of those.
What's next?: Hawkeyes play at Indiana Wednesday and Penn State at home Saturday. Iowa can't let another home Big Ten game get away.
Stat of the night: Freshman point guard Jeff Peterson had nine assists. Peterson needs to become more consistent as the season winds down, and getting nine assists is a good start.
IOWA STATE 73, OKLAHOMA STATE 66
Small picture: Cyclones are certainly taking care of home in Big 12 play. A nice win, as was Wednesday's victory over Missouri.
Big picture: Iowa State moves to 12-6, getting into position to make a run at a postseason tournament bid. But the Cyclones still need to do some resumé building — their RPI is 108. They've got to learn to win on the road.
What it means: The Cyclones aren't letting the winnable games get away.
What's next?: Road games at Kansas and Kansas State. Enough said.
Stat of the day: Four players scored in double figures, led by Wesley Johnson's 24 points. The Cyclones will need that kind of production this week.
DRAKE 79, ILLINOIS STATE 73
Small picture: The Bulldogs are the only undefeated team left in Missouri Valley Conference play.
Big picture: The Bulldogs continue to show how strong they are, rallying from 12 points down against a good Illinois State team.
What it means: A likely spot in the AP Top 25 this week. With an RPI of 12 and a Sagarin rating of 15, the Bulldogs deserve to be mentioned among the nation's best.
What's next: A road game against Creighton and a home game against Northern Iowa. Combine that with another game against Creighton next week, and the Bulldogs could put some distance between themselves and the rest of the conference.
Stat of the night: Former walk-ons Adam Emmenecker and Jonathan Cox combine for 34 points.
ORAL ROBERTS 76, WESTERN ILLINOIS 55
Small picture: The momentum the Leathernecks had at the beginning of the week went away with road losses to Centenary and the conference-leading Golden Eagles.
Big picture: Western Illinois slipped into the second division in Summit League play. But there's still plenty of time left in the league schedule to move back up the standings.
What it means: The Leathernecks were playing good basketball at home, but didn't play well in two road losses. They have to get better away from home, especially since they close the season with five of their last seven games on the road.
What's next?: A four-game home stretch, with IPFW and Oakland coming to Macomb this weekend, and UMKC and Southern Utah coming in next week.
Stat of the night: Western Illinois had just five assists in the game.
PURDUE 74, ILLINOIS 67
Small picture: Illinois looked to be on the way to a Big Ten road win before Purdue went on a 20-3 run.
Big picture: The Illini slipped to 9-10 overall, 1-5 in conference play. The heat on coach Bruce Weber continues to grow.
What it means: The season is slipping away. With road games against Ohio State and Michigan State looming, things could get worse before they get better. The worst thing that can happen is if this team quits on Weber.
What's next: At Ohio State Tuesday and at home against Northwestern Sunday.
Stat of the day: Illinois, the worst free-throw shooting team in the Big Ten, went 10-of-21 from the line.
NORTHERN IOWA 70, MISSOURI STATE 55
Small picture: The Panthers were in control for almost all of the second half on the way to snapping a four-game losing streak.
Big picture: After a Tuesday home loss to Creighton, UNI needed to win a game at the McLeod Center.
What it means: At 11-7, the Panthers need to begin building a winning streak. But...
What's next?: Road games against Wichita State and Drake. UNI needs a sweep to get back in the conference race.
Stat of the day: Four Panthers scored in double figures.
NOTES AND THOUGHTS
Western Illinois' women's team is in control of Summit League play with a 6-0 mark. A tough nonconference schedule certainly helped the Westerwinds, who are getting good balance on offense. ... Steve Alford's New Mexico team blew a double-digit second-half lead on the road (where have we heard that before?) in a loss to TCU, then Alford spent the post-game press conference tossing his players, especially the seniors, under the bus (where have we heard that before?). Good to see Alford didn't leave his act behind when he left Iowa for Albuquerque. ... Joe O'Brien's Idaho State team suffered a 74-53 road loss to Montana State in Big Sky play late Saturday night. The Bengals, in the former SCC coach's second season, are 6-12 overall and 3-2 in conference play, 1 1/2 games behind leader Northern Arizona.